This is a list of people from Sussex, a historic county in southern England. The following are people who were either born, brought up or have lived for a significant period of time in Sussex, or for whom Sussex is a significant part of their identity. Only those meeting notability criteria are included. A few people appear in more than one section of the list.
Arts
Actors
Architects
- Robert Knott Blessley (1833âÂÂ1923), architect
- Charles Busby (1786âÂÂ1834), architect
- Somers Clarke (1841âÂÂ1926), architect
- Ernest Coxhead (1863âÂÂ1933), Sussex-born American architect
- John Leopold Denman (1882âÂÂ1975), architect
- George Devey (1820âÂÂ1886), architect
- Frederick Charles Eden (1864âÂÂ1944), architect
- Walter Godfrey (1881âÂÂ1961), architect
- Piers Gough (born 1946), architect
- Nicholas Grimshaw (born 1939), architect
- Thomas Lainson (1825âÂÂ1898), architect
- Harvey Lonsdale Elmes (1814âÂÂ1847), architect
- Hugh May (1621âÂÂ1684), architect
- John Rebecca (died 1847), architect
- Ian Ritchie (born 1947), architect
- Edward Sargent (1842âÂÂ1914), Sussex-born American architect
- Henry Bingham Towner (1909âÂÂ1997), architect
- Randall Wells (1877âÂÂ1942), architect
- Amon Henry Wilds (1784 or 1790âÂÂ1857), architect
- Amon Wilds (1762âÂÂ1833), architect
Artists
- Helen Cordelia Angell (1847âÂÂ1884), watercolour painter
- Aubrey Beardsley (1872âÂÂ1898), illustrator
- Raymond Briggs (1934âÂÂ2022), illustrator, cartoonist and graphic novelist
- Edward Burra (1905âÂÂ1976), painter
- Russell Drysdale (1912âÂÂ1981), Sussex-born Australian artist
- Clifford Ellis (1907âÂÂ1985), printmaker, painter and designer
- Ralph Ellis (1885âÂÂ1963), painter and designer of inn signs
- Eric Gill (1882âÂÂ1940), sculptor, typeface designer and printmaker
- Gluck (1895âÂÂ1978), painter
- Patricia Goldsmith (1929âÂÂ2017), painter and printmaker
- Captain Thomas Honywood (1819âÂÂ1888), photographer
- Jamie Hewlett (born 1968), comic creator, animator and designer
- Edward Johnston (1872âÂÂ1944), Uruguayan-born craftsman and calligrapher
- Alison Lapper (born 1965), artist
- Raoul Millais (1901âÂÂ1999), portrait painter and equestrian artist
- Lee Miller (1907âÂÂ1977), American-born photographer
- Marianne North (1830âÂÂ1890), botanical artist
- Paul Pagk (born 1962), painter
- Roland Penrose (1900âÂÂ1984), artist and collector of modern art
- Eric Ravilious (1903âÂÂ1942), painter, designer, book illustrator and wood-engraver
- George Smith (1713/14-1776), landscape painter
- Hilary Stratton (1906âÂÂ1985), sculptor
- Paddy Summerfield (born 1929), artist
- Paul Tanqueray (1905âÂÂ1991), photographer
- Alan Thornhill (1921âÂÂ2020), sculptor
- Alfred Tidey (1808âÂÂ1892), miniature-painter
Broadcasters
- Zoe Ball (born 1970), television and radio presenter
- Hermione Cockburn (born 1973), television and radio presenter
- Simon Fuller (born 1960), television producer
- Sarah Kennedy (born 1950), television and radio presenter
- Des Lynam (born 1942), television presenter
- Piers Morgan (born 1965), broadcaster and journalist
- Richard Osman (born 1970), television presenter
- Jon Snow (born 1947), television presenter and journalist
- Jamie Theakston (born 1970), television and radio presenter
- Dan Walker (born 1977), television presenter, journalist and newsreader
- Holly Willoughby (born 1981), television presenter
Comedians
- James Bachman (born 1972), comedian
- Jo Brand (born 1957), comedian
- Harry Enfield (born 1961), comedian
- Stephen Grant (born 1973), comedian
- Tony Hawks (born 1960), comedian
- Alex Horne (born 1978), comedian
- Zoe Lyons (born 1971), comedian
- Max Miller (1894âÂÂ1963), comedian
- Simon Nye (born 1958), comic television writer
- Paul Putner (born 1966), comedian
- Romesh Ranganathan (born 1978), comedian
Dancers
Fashion designers
Filmmakers
- Adrian Brunel (1892âÂÂ1958), film director and screenwriter
- Charles Bennett (1899âÂÂ1995), film director and screenwriter
- Don Chaffey (1917âÂÂ1990), film director, screenwriter and producer
- Matt Charman (born 1979), screenwriter and producer
- Jack Clayton (1921âÂÂ1995), film director and producer
- Graham Cutts (1884âÂÂ1958), film director
- Brian Eastman (born 1949), film producer
- Sean Ellis (born 1970), film director, screenwriter and producer
- Robert Fox (born 1952), film producer
- Charles Frend (1909âÂÂ1977), film director
- Manning Haynes (1889âÂÂ1957), film director
- Adam Stephen Kelly (born 1990), film director, screenwriter and producer
- Pete Walker (born 1939), film director, screenwriter and producer
Musicians
- Charlesia Alexis (1934âÂÂ2012), Chagossian singer
- Anohni (born 1971), singer
- Brett Anderson (born 1967), singer (Suede, The Tears)
- Florence Aylward (1862âÂÂ1950), composer
- Tony Banks (born 1950), keyboardist
- Natasha Bedingfield (born 1981), singer-songwriter
- Wilfred Brown (1921âÂÂ1971), tenor
- Henry Burstow (1826âÂÂ1916), folk singer and bellringer
- Clara Butt (1872âÂÂ1936), contralto
- Nick Cave (born 1957), Australian-born singer, songwriter
- Celeste (born 1994), singer and songwriter
- Tom Chaplin (born 1979), singer-songwriter and musician (Keane)
- Shirley Collins (born 1935), folk singer
- Ms. Dynamite (born 1981), singer
- Keith Emerson (1944âÂÂ2016), keyboardist, songwriter and composer
- Gary Farr (born 1944), folk/blues singer
- Ruth Gipps (1921âÂÂ1999), composer
- Dominic Glynn (born 1960), electronic composer
- Harry Gregson-Williams (born 1961), composer
- Mike Hazlewood (1941âÂÂ2001), singer, composer and songwriter
- Nigel Kennedy (born 1956), violinist and violist
- William Henry Kerridge (1881âÂÂ1940), organist
- Pete Kirtley (born 1972), songwriter
- Vera Lynn (1917âÂÂ2020), singer and songwriter
- Conor Maynard (born 1992), singer-songwriter
- James McCartney (born 1977), musician and songwriter
- Paul McCartney (born 1942), singer-songwriter, has lived near Rye since the late 1970s
- Isolde Menges (1893âÂÂ1976), violinist
- Tom Odell (born 1990), singer-songwriter
- Ray Noble (1903âÂÂ1978), bandleader
- Passenger (born 1984), singer-songwriter, musician
- Maisie Peters (born 2000), singer-songwriter
- Luke Pritchard (born 1985), lead-singer of The Kooks
- Rag'n'Bone Man (born 1985), singer and songwriter
- Leslie Rands (1900âÂÂ1972), opera singer
- Tim Rice-Oxley (born 1976), musician and singer (Keane)
- Leo Sayer (born 1948), singer-songwriter
- Robert Smith (born 1959), singer, songwriter, musician (The Cure)
- Spider Stacy (born 1958), musician, singer, songwriter (The Pogues)
- Suggs (born 1961), singer-songwriter, musician (Madness)
- Nick Van Eede (born 1958), musician, producer, songwriter
- Thomas Weelkes (1576âÂÂ1623), composer and organist
- Bruce Welch (born 1941), guitarist
- Wreckless Eric (born 1954), singer-songwriter
- Nicholas Yonge (c.1560âÂÂ1619), singer
Writers
- Conrad Aiken (1889âÂÂ1973), American-born writer and poet
- Joan Aiken (1924âÂÂ2004), novelist
- Jane Aiken Hodge (1917âÂÂ2009), American-born writer
- John Agard (born 1949), Guyanese-born poet
- Vivien Alcock (1924âÂÂ2003), writer of children's books
- Val Andrews (1926âÂÂ2006), prolific writer on magic
- Attila the Stockbroker (born 1957), punk poet
- David Bangs, writer and conservationist
- Elizabeth Bartlett (1924âÂÂ2008), poet
- Viola Bayley (1911âÂÂ1997), children's author
- Aubrey Beardsley (1872âÂÂ1898), author
- Archibald Stansfield Belaney (commonly known as Grey Owl) (1888âÂÂ1938)
- Hilaire Belloc (1870âÂÂ1953), poet and writer
- Marie Belloc Lowndes (1868âÂÂ1947), novelist
- E. F. Benson (1867âÂÂ1940), writer
- Clementina Black (1853âÂÂ1922), writer
- William Blake (1757âÂÂ1827), poet
- Wilfrid Scawen Blunt (1840âÂÂ1922), poet and writer
- Andrew Boorde (c.1490âÂÂ1549)
- Joyce Lankester Brisley (1896âÂÂ1978), writer
- Arabella Buckley (1840âÂÂ1929), writer
- Anthony Burgess (1917âÂÂ1993), novelist, wrote A Clockwork Orange in Etchingham
- Anna Burns (born 1962), novelist
- Edward Carpenter (1844âÂÂ1929), poet
- John Caryll (senior) (1625âÂÂ1711), poet and dramatist
- William Collins (1721âÂÂ1759), poet
- Eliza Cook (1818âÂÂ1889), writer and Chartist
- Catherine Cookson (1906âÂÂ1998), author (citation required)
- E.M. Delafield (1890âÂÂ1943), author
- Alice Dudeney (1866âÂÂ1945), author and short story writer
- Henry Dudeney (1857âÂÂ1930), author
- Maureen Duffy (born 1933), poet, novelist, non-fiction author
- Anne Francis (1738âÂÂ1800), author
- John Fletcher (1579âÂÂ1625), playwright
- Ford Madox Ford (1873âÂÂ1939), novelist and poet
- John Galsworthy (1867âÂÂ1933), novelist and playwright
- Neil Gaiman (born 1960), fantasy writer
- Leon Garfield (1921âÂÂ1996), writer of children's fiction
- Angelica Garnett (1918âÂÂ2012), writer and artist
- David Garnett (1892âÂÂ1981), writer
- Rumer Godden (1907âÂÂ1998), writer
- Leon Gordon (1891âÂÂ1960), playwright
- Elly Griffiths (born 1963), crime novelist
- Patrick Hamilton (1904âÂÂ1962), playwright and novelist
- David Hare (born 1947), playwright and screenwriter
- William Hay (1695âÂÂ1755), writer
- William Hayley (1745âÂÂ1820), writer
- Ralph Hammond Innes (1913âÂÂ1998), novelist
- Edward James (1907âÂÂ1984), poet
- Henry James (1843âÂÂ1916), American author
- Peter James (born 1948), writer of crime fiction
- P.J. Kavanagh (1931âÂÂ2015), poet
- Sheila Kaye-Smith (1887âÂÂ1956), novelist
- Grace Kimmins (1870âÂÂ1954)
- Rudyard Kipling (1865âÂÂ1936), poet and novelist
- Damian Le Bas (born 1985), writer
- Theodora Elizabeth Lynch (1812âÂÂ1885), poet and novelist
- Peter Marshall (born 1946), biographer, travel writer and poet
- Thomas May (1594/5-1650), poet and dramatist
- Thomas Medwin (1788âÂÂ1869), writer and poet
- A. A. Milne (1882âÂÂ1956), author, best known for his Winnie-the-Pooh books
- Kate Mosse (born 1961), novelist
- Grace Nichols (born 1950), Guyanese-born poet
- William Nicholson (born 1948), screenwriter, novelist and playwright
- Thomas Otway (1652âÂÂ1685), dramatist
- Hilary Douglas Clark Pepler (1878âÂÂ1951), writer and poet
- Roland Penrose (1900âÂÂ1984), poet and artist
- Valentine Penrose (1898âÂÂ1978), French-born surrealist poet and author
- Alex Preston (born 1979), author and journalist
- Bessie Rayner Parkes (1829âÂÂ1925), writer
- Richard Realf (1832âÂÂ1878), poet
- Thomas Sackville, 1st Earl of Dorset (1536âÂÂ1608), poet and dramatist
- Malcolm Saville (1901âÂÂ1982), author
- Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792âÂÂ1822), Romantic poet
- Chris Simms (born 1969), author of crime novels
- George Smith (1713/14-1776), poet
- Noel Streatfeild (1895âÂÂ1986), author
- Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809âÂÂ1892), poet
- Isabella Tree (born 1964), writer and conservationist
- Robert Tressell (1870âÂÂ1911), novelist, The Ragged-Trousered Philanthropists
- Frank Tuohy (1925âÂÂ1999), writer
- Charles Webb (1939âÂÂ2020), American novelist, The Graduate
- H. G. Wells (1866âÂÂ1946), writer
- Barbara Willard (1909âÂÂ1994), novelist
- Angus Wilson (1913âÂÂ1991), novelist and short-story writer
- Virginia Woolf (1882âÂÂ1941), writer
Astronauts
Explorers
Military personnel
Monarchs and nobility
- Adeliza of Louvain (c.1103âÂÂ1151), Queen of England 1121âÂÂ1135
- Aelle of Sussex (fl.c.477âÂÂc.514), King of Sussex
- Aethelwalh of Sussex (fl.c.660âÂÂc.685), King of Sussex
- Queen Camilla (born 1947), wife of Charles III
- Eppillus (fl. c. 20BCâÂÂAD7), Iron Age king with capital at Chichester
- Tiberius Claudius Cogidubnus (fl. 1st century AD), king of Regni
- George IV (1762âÂÂ1830), King of the United Kingdom and King of Hanover 1820âÂÂ1830
- Godwin, Earl of Wessex (died 1053), Earl of Wessex and father of Harold Godwinson, the last Anglo-Saxon king of England
- Verica (fl. c. AD15âÂÂAD42), king of southern Atrebates with capital at Chichester
Philanthropists
Politicians and activists
- Edith Ayrton (1879âÂÂ1945), suffragist
- Barbara Bodichon (1827âÂÂ1891), feminist and women's rights activist
- Clementina Black (1853âÂÂ1922), feminist and trade unionist
- James Callaghan (1912âÂÂ2005), former prime minister of the United Kingdom 1976âÂÂ1979
- Anna Campbell (1991âÂÂ2018), feminist, anarchist and prison abolition activist who fought with the Women's Protection Units (YPJ) in the Rojava Conflict of the Syrian Civil War
- Edward Carpenter (1844âÂÂ1929), early activist for gay rights and animal rights
- William Cawley (1602âÂÂ1667), regicide and MP
- Jane Cobden (1851âÂÂ1947), suffragist
- Richard Cobden (1804âÂÂ1865), MP and co-founder of Anti-Corn Law League
- Maureen Colquhoun (1928âÂÂ2021), UK's first openly lesbian MP
- Margery Corbett Ashby (1882âÂÂ1981), suffragist, feminist and internationalist
- Cicely Corbett Fisher (1885âÂÂ1959), suffragist and workers' rights activist
- Freeman Freeman-Thomas, 1st Marquess of Willingdon (1866âÂÂ1941), politician, former governor general of Canada and former viceroy and governor-general of India
- Harry Hay (1912âÂÂ2002), Sussex-born American gay rights activist
- James Henty (1800âÂÂ1882), Sussex-born Australian politician
- Douglas Hogg, 1st Viscount Hailsham, lawyer, politician and Lord Chancellor
- Sabrina Jean (born 1973), Chagossian activist
- Sophia Jex-Blake (1840âÂÂ1912), suffragist
- Jenny Jones, Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (born 1949), first Green Party member of the House of Lords
- Helen Joseph (1905âÂÂ1992), anti-apartheid activist
- Jomo Kenyatta (c.1897âÂÂ1978), first prime minister and president of Kenya
- Imran Khan (born 1952), current prime minister of Pakistan
- Charles Lennox, 3rd Duke of Richmond (1735âÂÂ1806), known as the 'radical duke', probable owner of 'Sussex declaration' of US independence
- Caroline Lucas (born 1960), first Green Party MP
- Harold Macmillan (1894âÂÂ1986), Prime Minister of the United Kingdom 1957âÂÂ1963
- Louisa Martindale (1839âÂÂ1914), suffragist and workers' rights activist
- Theresa May (born 1956), former prime minister of the United Kingdom 2016âÂÂ2019
- John Merfold (fl 1450âÂÂ51), leader of 1450 uprising Henry VI
- William Merfold (fl 1450âÂÂ51), leader of 1450 uprising against Henry VI
- Ralph Neville (died 1244), Lord Chancellor of England
- Thomas Paine (1737âÂÂ1809), political activist
- Henry Pelham (1694âÂÂ1754), Prime Minister of the United Kingdom 1743âÂÂ1754
- Tony Penikett (born 1945), Premier of Yukon 1985âÂÂ1992
- William Penn (1644âÂÂ1718), founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, lived at Warminghurst
- Bessie Rayner Parkes (1829âÂÂ1925), feminist
- Anita Roddick (1942âÂÂ2007), human rights activist and environmental campaigner
- Anthony Stapley (1590âÂÂ1655), regicide and MP
- William Bridgland Steer (1867âÂÂ1939), trade unionist and politician
- Allen Vincatassin, first and current president of the Diego Garcia and Chagos Islands Council
Religious figures
Archbishops
Martyrs
Saints
Other religious leaders
- Matthew Caffyn (1628âÂÂ1714), General Baptist preacher
- Richard Challoner (1691âÂÂ1781), Roman Catholic bishop and leading figure of English Catholicism
- Cornelia Connelly (1809âÂÂ1879), US-born founder of the Society of the Holy Child Jesus and Mayfield School, Mayfield
- Richard Enraght (1837âÂÂ1898), Irish-born Anglo-Catholic priest
- John Sirgood (1822âÂÂ1885), Gloucestershire-born fundamentalist lay preacher, founder of Society of Dependants
- Thomas Stapleton (1535âÂÂ1598), Catholic theologian
- Fiona Windsor (born 1956), archdeacon of Horsham, and the first female archdeacon in Sussex
Scientists and scholars
Anthropologists
Archaeologists
Astronomers
- Patrick Moore (1923âÂÂ2012), astronomer and broadcaster
- Ian Morison (born 1943), astronomer and astrophysicist
- Martin Ryle (1918âÂÂ1984), radio astronomer, winner of Nobel Prize
Biologists
- William Borrer (1781âÂÂ1862), botanist
- Edward Boyse (1923âÂÂ2007), physician and biologist
- Barry Fell (1917âÂÂ1994), zoologist
- Isabella Forshall (1900âÂÂ1989), paediatric surgeon
- John Braxton Hicks (1823âÂÂ1897), doctor and obstrecian
- Frederick Gowland Hopkins (1861âÂÂ1947), biochemist and Nobel Prize winner
- Thomas Henry Huxley (1825âÂÂ1895), biologist and anthropologist
- Sophia Jex-Blake (1840âÂÂ1912), physician, pioneer female doctor
- Thomas H. Jukes (1906âÂÂ1999), biologist known for his work in nutrition and molecular evolution
- Martin Holdgate (born 1931), biologist and environmental scientist
- Marianne North (1830âÂÂ1890), biologist
- Richard Russell (1687âÂÂ1759), physician
- Edith Rebecca Saunders (1865âÂÂ1945), geneticist and plant anatomist
- F. M. L. Sheffield (1904âÂÂ1973), botanist
- David Sims (born 1969), marine biologist
- Octavia Wilberforce (1888âÂÂ1963), physician
Chemists
Computer scientists
Economists
Geologists and palaeontologists
Historians
Mathematicians
Philosophers
Physicists
Psychologists
Sportspeople
Boxers
Cricketers
Footballers
Golfers
Racing drivers
Tennis players
Other sportspeople
- Chemmy Alcott (born 1982), ski racer
- Bob Champion (born 1948), jump jockey and Grand National winner
- Mark Davis (born 1972), snooker player
- Mercedes Gleitze (1900âÂÂ1981), swimmer (first person to swim the Strait of Gibraltar, first British woman to swim the English Channel)
- Will Green (born 1973), rugby union player
- Guy Harwood (born 1939), racehorse trainer
- David Howell (born 1990), youngest UK chess grandmaster
- Richard Leman (born 1959), field hockey player
- Michael Olowokandi (born 1975), former NBA player
- Liam Treadwell (1986âÂÂ2000), jockey
- Bly Twomey (born 2010), para table tennis player and Bronze medallist at 2024 Summer Paralympics
Other notables
- Beachy Head Lady (fl. early to mid 3rd century AD)
- Charles Burrell (born 1962), conservationist (Knepp Wildland Project)
- John Cripps (1927âÂÂ2022), orchardist, responsible for creation of the Pink Lady ('Cripps Pink') and Sundowner ('Cripps Red') apples
- Martin Coles Harman (1885âÂÂ1954), self-proclaimed king of Lundy
- Cecil Hurst (1870âÂÂ1963), international lawyer, President of the Permanent Court of International Justice in The Hague (1934âÂÂ1936) and Chairman of the United Nations War Crimes Commission (1943âÂÂ1945)
- Peter Love (died 1610), pirate
- John Selden (1584âÂÂ1654), jurist
- Maria Ann Smith (1799âÂÂ1870), orchardist, responsible for creation of the Granny Smith apple
See also
Bibliography
References